Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag meet in the Manchester derby on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)
Shaun Wright-Phillips has backed Manchester City to beat Manchester United 3-1 this weekend, but has hailed the ‘spice’ returning to the derby after a spell when he felt the contest lost its lustre.
The Manchester derby is held at Old Trafford this Sunday with the Premier League champions favourites for victory despite going to the home of their rivals.
The Red Devils have seen results improve after a poor start to the season, winning their last three matches, but face the ultimate test in Pep Guardiola’s side.
Former City winger Wright-Phillips reckons his old side will indeed get the win, but is glad that the match has an edge to it again, which he believes had been blunted until recently.
‘It’s the Manchester derby this weekend and they are always tricky to predict,’ Shaun Wright-Phillips exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone.
‘If you go off form right now, you just expect City to win. In a derby that is never the case though and form goes out the window. This is like a unique one-off game every time it is played.
‘It’s a game where suddenly you understand the fans’ passion, especially people like Marcus Rashford who has been in the system since he was a kid. Bruno has been there long enough to get it too.
‘In the last three or four years, that derby rivalry is on the verge of coming back to that feisty and aggressive nature. Whereas before, because there were so many new players, I don’t think they got it straight away.
‘There was a few years there where it just felt like another game. The spice is back now and it is great for football.
‘That said, I do see City winning. I don’t think United will play as bad as they have been doing recently though but I think City win 3-1.’
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‘The spice is back now and it is great for football.’